Raising The Stakes

January 30, 1990

How come no one mentioned off-track betting during the big push to approve pari-mutuel racing two years ago? Back then track promoters just touted horse racing as a way to bolster the thoroughbred industry in Virginia and to provide residents and tourists with a harmless form of entertainment. Now investors are saying that off-track betting, with the races broadcast to betting sites far from the track, is the only way to make the venture viable in Virginia.

After voters approved pari-mutuel betting in a 1988 statewide referendum, six counties followed through with the necessary local approval that would permit a track and spur economic development. But potential investors have found, not surprisingly, that land near the big crowds in Northern Virginia is too expensive. And placing a track out in the hinterlands might not draw enough spectators. So, track backers are now claiming that satellite betting facilities are vital to bringing in the bettors.

Allowing off-track betting would require a change in the horse-racing law, something the General Assembly isn't likely to do this year. Instead, lawmakers are being asked to study the concept of off-track betting, its impact and how it would be run and monitored, with the possibility of approving the change next year.

Lawmakers and citizens of Virginia certainly need to know more about this effort to expand pari-mutuel betting before the first track is built. Residents in those counties that approved tracks should be asking what telecasting of the races would mean to them. Will those areas that envisioned a glitzy track and related industries like hotels and restaurants be left with little more than a TV studio for the ponies to run in? What would it mean to areas that might be asked to house the betting parlors?

The reason no one mentioned off- track betting during the pari-mutuel push was the unsavory reputation that the practice has in some sections of the country. There needs to be a good explanation of what these parlors are really like and what this type of betting proliferation would mean in the Old Dominion.

As it stands now, the bid for off-track betting smells of backdoor maneuvering by racing supporters who weren't upfront with voters in 1988. It raises questions about other breaks, perks and legal revisions that track promoters may require to make horse racing the good bet that Virginians were told that it was.